'The Salvation' is a Western that gets lost in the genre

February 27, 2015 1:19 PM

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The simplicity of an old-school Western with one good loner facing down a relentless outlaw can fool you into thinking these films are easy to make. From classics such as "High Noon" and "Shane" to Sergio Leone's bloody spaghetti Westerns, they tend to be short on dialogue and long on mood, with death coming at the end of the day.

It's only when you watch something such as "The Salvation," set on the American frontier circa 1871 and showcasing the formidable intensity of Mads Mikkelsen, that it becomes apparent how difficult it is to create that tension between good and evil on the high plains.